Current State of Treatment for Alcohol and Other Drug Use Disorders in Adolescents

Over the past he decade, treatment programs have been developed specifically for adolescents with alcohol and other drug (AOD) use disorders. The vast majority of these programs use psychosocial approaches, which can be further classified into family-based interventions and multisystemic therapy, motivational enhancement therapy, behavioral therapy, and cognitive–behavioral therapy. Outcome studies have evaluated the effectiveness of the different approaches. The results indicate that all of these strategies can improve an adolescent’s outcome on a variety of measures. Pharmacotherapy rarely is used in the treatment of adolescents with AOD use disorders, and existing studies only have assessed the effectiveness of agents aimed at treating coexisting psychiatric conditions. Future studies should use more consistent, state-of-the-art assessment instruments developed specifically for adolescents and also pay greater attention to an adolescent’s developmental status and its impact on treatment outcome.

O ver the past decade, researchers and clinicians have made sub stantial progress in treating adolescents with alcohol and other drug (AOD) use disorders, including devel oping treatment programs specifically for this agegroup rather than adminis tering the same treatments as for adults with these disorders. And although the knowledge base regarding what consti tutes appropriate treatment for adoles cents still remains sparse and in need of improvement, as described in the accompanying article by Wagner (pp. 67-75), researchers and clinicians now are recognizing that adolescents differ from adults and have specific develop mental characteristics which may influ ence treatment design, patient adher ence to treatment, and treatment outcome (Deas et al. 2000b). As a result, treatment approaches have been developed to specifically target adoles cents with AOD use problems, and their success has been evaluated in out come studies. This article reviews the findings of these outcome studies.

Inclusion Criteria
Although many approaches-primarily psychosocial strategies-have been used to treat adolescents with AOD use problems, the effectiveness of most of these treatments has not been evaluated in clinical trials that meet usual scientific standards (i.e., studies conducted under controlled conditions that compare the outcomes of two or more treatments). To identify those studies that do meet the criteria for controlled, comparative trials, an extensive literature search was conducted (for more information, see Deas 2008). The reference lists of each of those studies also were reviewed to identify additional studies not captured in the initial literature search.
To be included in the review, the studies had to meet the following criteria: • They had to focus on AOD use disorders in adolescents; • They had to compare one or more treatment modalities; • They had to be published between 1990 and 2005; and • They had to involve random assign ment of participants to the different treatment conditions.
The literature search identified 14 studies that met these criteria and which fell into five categories of treat ment strategies: • Familybased interventions and multisystemic therapy; • Motivational enhancement therapy; xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx Current State of Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorders in Adolescents • Behavioral therapy; • Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT); and • Pharmacotherapy.
The following sections review the main characteristics and findings of these studies, thereby providing an overview of currently available, evidence based treatments. In addition to showing true promise for treating adolescents, these approaches may be useful in other settings and should help to inform future research efforts.

Interventions and Multisystemic Therapy
The most thoroughly investigated type of adolescent AOD treatment involves familybased interventions that are conducted in the office or home envi ronment and require specific training. These approaches are based on the assumption that people's behaviors are heavily influenced by the context in which they experience their primary relationships-which typically is the family. Of course, other contexts, such as the social environment (i.e., peer groups) and community, also influence behavior in adolescents, but the primary influence in this agegroup is thought to be the family. Therefore, both assess ment and treatment of AOD use in adolescents should take into considera tion the adolescent's functioning within the family as well as his or her interactions with the extended family and social sys tems. The most studied evidencebased treatment taking this broader ecological approach in the natural environment is known as multisystemic therapy (MST).
Overall, the literature search identi fied seven studies that assessed the effectiveness of familybased and MST approaches, as reviewed below. Lewis and Colleagues (1990) This study included 84 adolescents (ages 12-20, with a mean age of 16 years) who were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of either family therapy (i.e., a program called the Purdue Brief Family Therapy Program) or a family educa tion intervention (i.e., a program called Training in Parenting Skills). To reduce adolescent AOD use, the Purdue Brief Family Therapy Program combines a variety of strategies aimed at achieving the following:

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• Acknowledging that AOD use is a problem not only of the adolescent but of the entire family; • Reducing the family's resistance to AOD treatment; • Reestablishing appropriate parental influence and interrupting dysfunc tional family behaviors; • Assessing how AOD use affects rela tionships among family members; • Implementing change strategies; and • Helping the adolescent and his or her siblings resist peer pressure to use AODs by enhancing assertion skills.
In contrast, the Training in Parenting Skills program educated all family members about different types of drugs (i.e., "soft" drugs, such as tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana, and "hard" drugs, which include all other illegal drugs) and their effects and provided information on ways to overcome AOD addiction. Treatment outcome was assessed by determining frequency of AOD use and a "drug severity index." The study found that adolescents in the family therapy group were more likely to have a lower drug severity index after treatment than those in the family education group; more over, adolescents in the family therapy group exhibited greater overall improvement throughout the treat ment period. Henggeler and Colleagues (1991) This study included 200 adolescents (mean age 14.4 years) who were involved in the juvenile justice system for a vari ety of offenses (e.g., truancy and other crimes), including 26 adolescents with AODrelated offenses (e.g., public intoxication or drug possession or sale). The study comprised two parts. In the first part, the investigators randomly assigned the participants to MST or individual counseling. The MST modality was a timeintensive, individ ualized approach that focused on changing the adolescents' behavior in a natural environment. To this end, the investigators identified the strengths and weaknesses of each participant and developed a treatment plan based on these to facilitate change. For example, for an adolescent who was an excellent basketball player but made poor deci sions with respect to choosing deviant peers, a treatment plan would focus on increasing his prosocial basketball opportunities with non-substance using peers and teaching him improved peer refusal skills. Treatment involved therapy sessions in the adolescent's home as well as information for the parents on how to handle difficult situ ations during the treatment period. The individualcounseling approach, in contrast, targeted personal, family, and academic issues and focused solely on the adolescent, ignoring the multi ple systems to which he or she was connected.

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Treatment outcome in this part of the study was determined based on the rate of repeated AODrelated arrests rather than actual quantity and frequency of AOD use. Although treatment duration was comparable (i.e., mean of 24 hours for MST versus 28 hours for individual coun seling), adolescents receiving MST had significantly lower AODrelated arrest rates during the study period compared with adolescents receiving individual counseling (i.e., 4 percent and 16 percent, respectively).
For the second part of the study, the investigators compared the effects of MST and the Department of Youth Services' usual program for juvenile offenses and AOD use. In that program, adolescents had monthly meetings with a probation officer to evaluate school attendance and compliance with curfews. Both interventions were delivered over a 4month peri od. The frequency of use of soft drugs (i.e., alcohol and marijuana) and hard drugs (i.e., cocaine, hallu cinogens, amphetamines, barbitu rates, and heroin) was measured to determine outcome. The study found that adolescents in the MST group had significantly lower alcohol and marijuana use rates compared with the adolescents in the Department of Youth Services' usual program. 1

Study by Henggeler and Colleagues (1999)
The same investigators conducted another study involving 118 juvenile offenders (ages 12-17 years, mean age 15.7 years) who were randomly assigned to MST or a program offered by the community. Adolescents assigned to MST received an average of 130 days of treatment that included about 40 hours of direct contact with a treat ment provider and 6 hours of indirect contact. The program offered by the community involved outpatient sub stance abuse treatment and weekly meetings in a 12step program for an average of 5 months but included few specialized substance abuse or mental health services. The main outcome assessed was AOD use as determined by a questionnaire and urine screens.
The study found that at the end of treatment, adolescents in the MST group used significantly less alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. Moreover, 6 months after the end of treatment, adolescents in the MST group appeared to have fewer overall problems, as indicated by fewer placements outside the home (e.g., in juvenile detention facilities, resident treatment facilities, or other institutions) compared with adolescents in the community pro gram. Finally, the effects of treatment appeared to persist over an extended period of time because 4 years later, a followup of 80 participants (Henggeler et al. 2002) showed that participants in the MST group had fewer convic tions for aggressive criminal behaviors and higher levels of abstinence from marijuana than participants in the community program.

Study by Joanning and Colleagues (1992)
This investigation compared three dif ferent psychosocial treatment approaches for adolescent AOD use in 134 adoles cents (ages 11-20): • Brief strategic family therapy that involved structural components (i.e., establishing a hierarchy and boundaries) as well as strategic components (i.e., specific problem focused interventions) 2 and which was provided in 7 to 15 therapy ses sions delivered weekly for 12 weeks; • Adolescent group therapy (delivered weekly for 12 weeks) that was similar to outpatient group therapy offered by hospitals and which sought to enhance social skills, cognitive development, and role playing; or • Family drug education, which pro vided information about drug use and its effects on both the adolescent and his or her family in a setting of several families and which was pro vided biweekly for six sessions.
The main outcome measured was AOD use, which was determined indirectly through random drug screens, legal involvement, drug involvement surveys, and family assessment inter views. Direct assessment of quantity and frequency of AOD use was not performed.
The study found that after treat ment, adolescents in the family sys tems therapy group were significantly more likely to be abstainers (54 percent) than those in the adolescent group therapy (28 percent) or family drug education group (16 percent). No differences were found among the three groups in measures of family functioning.

Study by Latimer and Colleagues (2003)
Another group of researchers compared the effectiveness of family therapy com bined with CBT versus a drug harm psychoeducation curriculum in 43 adolescents (ages 12-18, with a mean age of 16.07 years). The family therapy/ CBT approach promoted abstinence from drugs by strengthening family communication, ageappropriate roles, and effective parenting skills. It also used behavioral contracts to encourage desired behaviors. The cognitivebehavioral component focused on helping the adolescents understand the principles of problem solving and of rational versus emotive behaviors. The drug harm psychoeducation curriculum, which was based on drug information from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, provided information on the harmful effects of AODs and the negative consequences associated with their use.
Both interventions were delivered for 16 weeks, and the researchers conducted followup evaluations at 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment, measuring AOD use frequency, pres ence of drugs in the urine, and self report interviews for all types of drugs. The investigators found that adolescents receiving the family thera py/CBT intervention on average had fewer days of alcohol use during the 6month followup period and had lower marijuana use rates at 6 months compared with adolescents who had received the drug harm psycho education intervention.

Study by Waldron and Colleagues (2001)
These investigators compared the out comes of 114 AODabusing adolescents (ages 13-17, with a mean age of 15.4 years) who were randomly assigned to one of four interventions: • Functional family therapy, which included 12 hours of therapy (one session per week); • CBT, which included 12 hours of therapy delivered in one session per week; • Combined family therapy and CBT for a total of 24 hours of therapy (two 1hour sessions per week); and • Psychoeducation, which was deliv ered in eight 90minute sessions for a total of 12 hours of therapy.
Following the 12week treatment period, followup evaluations were conducted at 4 and 7 months. To determine outcome, the investigators assessed the number of days adoles cents used marijuana, the proportion of adolescents who achieved minimal marijuana use (i.e., reported use on fewer than 10 percent of days), the results of urine drug screens, and the quantity and frequency of drug use. 3 The adolescents who were assigned to the combined and psychoeducation groups had shown the highest rates of marijuana use before treatment initia tion, using the drug on 57 and 66 percent of days, respectively. The study found that these two groups also showed the greatest reduction in the proportion of days with marijuana use at the 7month followup. How ever, these effects were specific to marijuana use because no significant changes were found in the number of days of alcohol or tobacco use in either of the groups.

Study by Liddle and Colleagues (2001)
In a final study assessing the effectiveness of family therapy, 182 alcohol and marijuanaabusing adolescents (ages 13-18) were randomly assigned to 14 to 16 weeks of (1) multidimensional family therapy, (2) adolescent group therapy, or (3) multifamily education intervention. Drug use, as determined by selfreports, collateral (i.e., parent or sibling) reports, or urine analysis, was used as the outcome measure at the end of the treatment period and at a 1year followup assessment. The investigators found that adolescents assigned to multidimensional family therapy showed the greatest improvement (i.e., highest proportion of adolescents reporting reductions in drug use), with more than 40 percent of participants in this group reporting druguse reduc tion. Moreover, this effect persisted throughout the 1year followup period.

Motivational Enhancement Therapy
Motivational enhancement therapy, or motivational interviewing (MI), is a brief intervention designed to enhance a person's motivation to make changes regarding AOD use and those life situ ations that may trigger or sustain AOD use. (The same approach also can be used for other highrisk behaviors [Miller and Rollnick 2002].) To achieve this goal, MI uses an empathic, nonjudg mental approach; employs reflective lis tening; develops discrepancy (i.e., the therapist reflects back both the patient's reasons to continue AOD use and the reasons to quit); avoids arguments; rolls with resistance (i.e., does not challenge the patient's reasons for continuing AOD use and avoiding treatment); and supports the client's own ability to change (i.e., selfefficacy for change). The MI approach is particularly appealing for treatment of AODabusing adolescents because these adolescents often do not seek treatment and need to be motivated to change their behaviors and seek treatment. Two studies have investigated the effectiveness of MI in AODabusing adolescents. Marlatt and Colleagues (1998) In this study, 188 female and 160 male high school seniors (age 19 or younger) were randomly assigned to a single brief MI session during their freshman year in college or to no intervention. The investigators then assessed drink ing rates, alcoholrelated problems, and alcohol dependence as determined by selfreports and reports by others on quantity and frequency of drinking as well as peak alcohol consumption; these outcomes were determined both at 6 months and at 2 years after the intervention.

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The adolescents in the MI group exhibited significant reductions in both drinking and alcoholrelated Vol. 32, No. 1, 2009 79 consequences at each of the followup points. Thus, at the 6month followup they drank less frequently, had lower peak consumption levels, and lower consumption over time compared with the adolescents who did not receive an intervention. These effects also were seen at the 2year followup, demonstrating that the benefits of MI can persist over time.

Study by McCambridge and Strang (2004)
These investigators randomly assigned 200 adolescents (ages 16-20) to one MI session or to the control condition (i.e., education as usual without any intervention). The adolescents' drug use at baseline was assessed using self reports, peer interviews, and analysis of hair samples. Three months after the intervention, changes in the use of vari ous drugs, drugspecific perceptions, and other behavioral outcomes were evaluated. The analysis found that overall the MI group showed signifi cantly reduced nicotine, alcohol, and marijuana use. Moreover, the number of adolescents in the MI group who had been nondrinkers at baseline but had begun drinking at followup was significantly lower than the corre sponding number of adolescents in the control group.

Behavioral Therapy
Another psychosocial approach that has been used in the treatment of AODabusing adolescents is behavioral therapy, which targets AOD use in the context of the adolescent's environment. In general, behavioral therapy attempts to identify the behaviors and situations in which AOD use occurs and then to disrupt those behaviors by equipping the client with skills to resist AOD use and avoid relapse. Consequently, one essential component of behavioral ther apy is a functional analysis to explore what triggers AOD use and promotes continued use. Other components include skills training specific to each client (e.g., drug refusal skills and social skills) and relapse prevention, as well as stress management, assertiveness train ing, and selfregulation. One group of investigators has assessed the effective ness of this approach in AODabusing adolescents, as described below.

Study by Azrin and Colleagues (1994)
The study included 26 adolescents (ages 13-18, with a mean age of 16 years) who sought treatment for AOD use disorders. The participants were assigned either to behavioral therapy or supportive counseling. Components of the behavior therapy included the following: • Written assignments and review of insession assignments; • Rehearsals of specific situations, with modeling by the therapist and selfrecording; • Procedures to identify the amount of time spent in "risky" versus "safe" situations, with the goal of increas ing the time spent in safe situations; • Urge control to disrupt internal stimuli that normally precede AOD use (e.g., thoughts of, and cravings for, alcohol); and • Social control/contracting in which parents provided the adolescents with "safe" activities.
For the supportive counseling group, sessions focused on the expres sion of feelings, selfgenerated insight into the reasons for the adolescents' AOD use, and discussion of drug related experiences.
Both treatment approaches included an average of 15 sessions delivered over 6 months. Outcome was measured by determining type and frequency of drug use (based on both selfreports and urine tests), school attendance, employment, institutionalization, and arrest. The study found that adoles cents in the behavioral therapy group reported lessfrequent drug use (which was confirmed by fewer positive drug screens) and had improved school attendance and performance as well as better conduct ratings than adolescents in the supportive counseling group.
The same researchers also com pared the effectiveness of behavioral therapy and supportive counseling in another group of 74 adolescents and adults (ages 13-43) who were fol lowed for 9 months after therapy (Azrin et al. 1996). This analysis also demonstrated significantly greater reductions in AOD use in the behavioral therapy group than in the supportive therapy group, both at the end of treatment and at the 9month followup. The behavioral therapy group also showed greater improvements in the number of days worked, days in school, and alcohol use.
Finally, the researchers further modi fied the behavioral therapy approach to include the adolescent's family, an approach known as family behavioral therapy (Azrin et al. 2001). This inter vention was compared with an individual cognitive problemsolving intervention in adolescents diagnosed with conduct disorder as well as AOD dependence. This analysis found that both interven tions were equally effective.

CBT
CBT, which, as described above, also has been combined with family therapy, is an extension of behavioral therapy that integrates cognitive aspects into behavioral strategies to address AOD use. Thus, CBT emphasizes functional analyses that help the client to better understand the factors and situations that precede AOD use as well as the consequences of that use. Accordingly, CBT focuses on identifying highrisk situations and helping the client acquire the skills necessary to prevent or appro priately address those situations. Two studies have investigated the effective ness of this approach in adolescents. Kaminer and Colleagues (1998) This study included 32 adolescents (ages 13-18) who had been diagnosed with AOD abuse and other psychiatric disorders, such as disruptive disorders (e.g., conduct disorder or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) or inter nalizing disorders (e.g., depression or an anxiety disorder). The participants were assigned to CBT or group therapy for 12 weeks. The CBT sessions included such components as presenta tions, modeling, role playing, and homework exercises. The outcomes measured included urine drug screen results, scores on a standardized assess ment instrument (i.e., the Teen Addiction Severity Index), and selfreports on the quantity and frequency of AOD use.

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The investigators initially hypothe sized that adolescents with disruptive disorders might respond better to the CBT, whereas adolescents with inter nalizing disorders might achieve better outcomes with group therapy. How ever, the results did not support this hypothesis. Regardless of their coex isting disorder, adolescents in the CBT group achieved lower scores on the Teen Addiction Severity Index than did those receiving group therapy. Furthermore, no differences in treat ment outcome existed between the groups with respect to the number of positive urine screens.

Study by Kaminer and Colleagues (2002)
The same researchers later conducted a larger study comparing 88 adolescents (ages 13-18, with a mean age of 15.4 years) with AOD use disorders, most of whom also had been diagnosed with other psychiatric disorders. The partici pants received either CBT or psycho educational therapy in 8 weekly 75 to 90minute sessions. AOD use outcomes were determined by urine drug screens and scores on the Teen Addiction Severity Index, with followup assessments at 3 and 9 months. Again, the investigators had formu lated an initial hypothesis that although both groups would show improve ments in drug use throughout the followup period, adolescents receiving CBT would exhibit better treatment retention and better outcomes at followup. The results, however, did not bear this out. Specifically, the researchers reported the following findings: • Although the CBT group showed greater improvements at the 3 month followup, both groups had similar relapse rates at the 9month followup-that is, the CBT group exhibited increasing relapse rates over time.
• At the 3month followup, drug use, as determined by positive urine screens, was significantly lower among older adolescents and males receiving CBT than in the corre sponding subgroups in the psycho educational therapy group.
• Alcohol use decreased significantly up to the 3month followup, partic ularly in the psychoeducational therapy group; conversely, other drug use over those 3 months declined more in the CBT group.
• Improvements in selfreported AOD use were similar in both groups between the 3month and 9month followups.

Pharmacotherapy
Several medications have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of alcohol dependence in adults, including disulfiram (Antabuse ® ), naltrexone (ReVia ® ), and acamprosate (Campral ® ). However, these and other agents are rarely used in the treatment of adoles cents with AOD use disorders and have not been studied in this population. Only two doubleblind, placebo controlled trials 4 have assessed the use of pharmacotherapy in adolescents with AOD use disorders, and the med ications tested were for the treatment of coexisting psychiatric disorders rather than for AOD use disorders.

Study by Geller and Colleagues (1998)
These investigators randomly assigned 25 adolescents (ages 12-18, with a mean age of 16.3 years) with bipolar disorder and a resulting AOD use dis order to treatment with lithium (a mood stabilizer that counteracts both mania and depression) or placebo for 6 weeks.
In addition, all participants received weekly interpersonal therapy and were seen twice weekly by a health care provider. Outcome measures included AOD use as determined by urine drug screens and clinical improvement as determined by a standardized instrument (i.e., the Clinical Global Assessment Scale). The study found that adoles cents in the lithium group had signifi cantly fewer positive drug screens and exhibited greater clinical improvement; however, mood outcomes did not differ between the two groups.

Study by Deas and Colleagues (2000a)
In this study, 10 adolescents (mean age 16.8 years) with alcohol dependence and cooccurring depression were ran domly assigned to 12 weeks of treatment with the antidepressant sertraline or a placebo. In addition, all participants received CBT during those 12 weeks.
To determine outcome, quantity and frequency of alcohol use and changes in depression scores were assessed and comparable reductions were found in both groups. The lack of difference between the two groups may result from the fact that both groups received CBT, which has been proven to be effective in the treatment of AOD use disorders. In addition, the number of participants was so small that differ ences between the groups may not have become apparent; a larger sample size might have been able to distin guish between the effects of the therapy and any additional medication effects.

Conclusions
As the studies reviewed here demon strate, much progress has been made in the development and implementation of treatment approaches for adolescents with AOD use problems as well as in the analysis of their effectiveness. More over, the analyses demonstrate that various treatment approaches can result in beneficial outcomes for the adoles cents. Also noteworthy is the fact that most of these studies assessed and tar geted multiple drugs of abuse because adolescents tend to use not just one drug. For example, the two most com monly used drugs among adolescents -alcohol and marijuana-frequently are used together. Nevertheless, these studies are asso ciated with a number of limitations. First, few studies addressed the ado lescents' developmental status and how it may affect treatment outcome, primarily because the age ranges included were so broad that develop mental issues were difficult to address. And even when cognitive develop ment was considered in the context of MST and CBT treatment approaches, no conclusive statements could be made regarding the impact of cogni tive development on outcome because there was too much variance among the participants. Second, the outcomes assessed and the methods to deter mine AOD use and other outcomes differed greatly among the studies, making direct comparisons impossible. Third, most studies compared the treatment approach under investiga tion with other approaches but did not include a notreatment control group. Although it clearly would be unethical to withhold treatment from adolescents with AOD use disorders, the lack of such control groups some what limits interpretation of the study results. Thus, despite the progress in research on AOD treatment for adolescents, future studies can be improved-for example, by using stateoftheart assessment instruments designed specifically for adolescents and by more consistently integrating assessments of the adolescents' devel opmental status and its impact on treatment outcome. ■

Financial Disclosure
The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.